magnanimous (adjective) – generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness
For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: How do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?
-bell hooks
I am delightfully captivated by the Latin origin of this word. Magnanimus in Latin means “great-souled.” What an incredible ideal to strive for, right? By fine-tuning forgiveness, we can begin to make our souls great again. I will wash my mouth or fingers out with soap later for typing such a sickening reference, but it amuses me. After all, I would rather laugh at the absurdity than cry, so here we are. Talk about a tough figure to forgive. Are some acts beyond forgiveness? I am curious to ponder upon that concept more. I do not think so. I think some people do not deserve second chances (or terms), but I do believe that forgiveness should be all-encompassing and universal. Otherwise, like I have repeated in each post this cycle so far, who gets hurt if we fail to forgive? We hurt.
It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive.
Forgive everybody.
-Maya Angelou
Do we want to stay hurt? I know I do not. I am trying to be the best me that I can be. In order to work towards that goal, I need to heal, and forgiveness is a key to healing fully.
To err is human, to forgive is divine.
-Alexander Pope
How great is your soul? Do you have any idea? When is the last time that you tried to get in touch and connect with it? I will sugjest again – who is at least one person or thing that you can work on forgiving today? Magnanimity will not be fully developed in only one day. However, at any point in time, we can begin to put in the work and pivot that way. Healing is a choice that we can each make. What is stopping you from starting now?
Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.